A 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Myanmar, shaking Bangkok and a Chinese province.
An earthquake of 7.7 magnitude on the Richter scale struck an area near the city of Mandalay in Myanmar today, Friday, March 28, according to the US Geological Survey.
The earthquake caused violent tremors felt by residents of the Thai capital Bangkok and the neighboring Yunnan province in China, causing widespread panic and mass evacuation, with hundreds fleeing buildings into the streets in Bangkok in a state of panic.
The earthquake's epicenter was 17.2 km from Mandalay (the second-largest city in Myanmar), at a shallow depth of only 10 kilometers, intensifying the impact of the tremors in the surrounding areas.
The tremors extended to Bangkok, where residents reported building vibrations, and hundreds rushed to the streets fearing collapses. Residents of Yunnan in China also felt the earthquake, although there have been no reports of significant damage there so far.
The German "GFZ" center warned of the possibility of strong aftershocks due to the shallow epicenter of the earthquake. Authorities in Myanmar urged residents to remain calm and avoid unsafe buildings, while rescue teams were deployed to monitor the affected areas.
